You're American. You think you can escape history. You only live for the present.

FATHER BENEDETTO, The American (2010)

Well, of all the causes to take up: AIDS, cancer, hunger, poverty. I've always felt there was something special about people who commit themselves to guns. Anyone, I suppose, could contribute to a shelter or help the needy, but it takes a true American to dedicate himself to firearms. And you know what? We need people like you. Our country's getting a bad rep just because we kill each other. Well, that's manly...shooting people. United States - this is where men live. Australia, all their stupid bragging about how tough they are in the outback, they get about 15 gun homicides a year. What the hell is that? We get ten thousand. The Japanese are even more pathetic. In 1999, for kids between 15 and 19, they didn't have one handgun murder...not one! We had over five thousand! Our teenagers are tough, but it can't happen unless we get the guns out there into their hands. And for that, we need committed, good people like all of you. Look at these idiots in Washington who think it's wrong for teenagers to have assault rifles. And the stupid Democrats think we should have ten day waiting periods. What happens if you need to kill somebody today? Next thing, the government will try to crack down on incest and we won't be able to breed future NRA members. I mean, we are talking about the toothless illiterates that makes this country great. This is America. Get a gun!

HARRY SENATE, Boston Public (2000)

It's a good feeling, you know, to shoot a bad guy. Something you Democrats would never understand. Americans... we're homesteaders, we want a safe home, keep the money we make, and shoot bad guys.

DENNY CRANE, Boston Legal, "Hired Guns" (2004)

More than any time in recent history, America's destiny is not of our own choosing. We did not seek, nor did we provoke an assault on our freedom and our way of life. We did not expect, nor did we invite a confrontation with evil. Yet the true measure of the people's strength is how they rise to master that moment when it does arrive.

PRESIDENT JOSIAH "JED" BARTLET, The West Wing, "20 Hours in America" (2002)